Learning Curve
by a-bit-of-this-and-that
Summary: Charlotte always knew her abilities brought nothing but trouble, so she resolved to ignore them. Enter Griffin, and she learns there may be another way. Together, they learn what they are and what that means. It's not always easy and sometimes it's downright scary, but her Aunt had always said ignorance was nonsense.
1. Another

**1.** ** _  
_** _ **"I don't know where you're going, but do you have room for one more troubled soul? I don't know where I'm going, but I don't think I'm coming home."**_ _  
'Alone Together,' by Fallout Boy  
._

"I've been watching you, boy..."

Thirteen-year-old Griffin O'Connor jolted and looked about for who had disrupted him- bad form to sit outside the toilets to wait and accost a poor soul. His eyes fell on a tall woman with dark eyes, olive skin, and black hair. Her hair had wisps of grey, and her skin was beginning to wrinkle around her eyes and mouth. He'd seen her around...

He was not immediately afraid of her.

"What's that suppose to mean, then?" he asked in an impolite manner.

"Only what I said- I have been watching you."

Her tone was pleasant enough, but he didn't like the idea of someone watching him.

"Ah, c'mon, miss- I'm not stealin' nothin', am I? Leave me alone," he attempted to wave her off.

"That's not what I meant.

She smiled at him in an indulgent way that was almost... _motherly_.

He began to walk away from her for that smile alone.

"I know what you can do, boy," she told him as he turned his back.

He froze. No one should say that. He should run from anyone who said that. Instead, he turned back to her slowly to reassess her.

"I dunno what you mean"

"I think you do," she nodded wisely. "I have someone I think you should meet- I'd like it if you would..."

With that enigmatic statement, the woman turned and walked away. Griffin watched her go in her long skirt and her brown shawl. She seemed...mysterious. What was she all about?

She had an accent that didn't seem distinctively familiar to him, and it seemed like it had faded...maybe she'd been here in the states a long while. And, yup, definitely mysterious...but sometimes that was just par for the course in places like this.

He'd bunked up with a traveling circus group. He had done so before in Nevada and found people didn't ask a lot of invasive questions in places like that. You could come and go more freely than in many other places- they typically thought of him as a kid fascinated with running away. As long as he stayed out of trouble and minded his own business he faded-in well enough.

He had planned to stick around for a while to eat up and rest up around company and make sure he still had some semblance of social skills before moving on. He no longer had family- he never really would- but being around a tight community and pretending he was part of it...

It felt nice...

The woman let herself into a small camper, and Griffin hesitated outside. It could be a trap...but he was also curious; he could always Jump away. With a deep breath, he followed her up the small metal step.

The woman was at the stove, and the smell of whatever she was making engulfed the whole RV; a spicy smell took over his senses. It was close to overwhelming and yet it was also a delicious smell.

"Are you hungry?" she asked over her shoulder.

"Maybe," he teetered in the doorway.

"I"ll dish you some...come on in."

"Maybe..." he repeated himself monosyllabically.

"A man of few words... Okay, okay," the woman chortled and looked at him again over her shoulder. "Where are you from, child?"

Her voice was somewhat raspy...he found it soothing against his will.

"Why do ya wanna know?"

"Just to make conversation... ...so?"

"...Oxfordshire...but really I'm from all over..." he told her, scuffing his toe at the warn carpet.

"I'm sure," the woman turned from the stove fully now. "What's your name?"

"What's _yours_?" he challenged.

"Elsa," she smiled. "And I think I like you...?"

"...Griffin," he ticked his chin up proudly.

"Feel free to have a seat, then, Griffin," she waved at her small table.

"...you said I should meet someone and you said...things," he muttered, not wanting to specifically say that she'd alluded she knew he was a Jumper.

"So I did," she nodded. "I'll see if she's here..."

Griffin tracked the woman with his eyes while she moved to the back of the RV. She knocked on a wood door and pushed it open.

"What are you doing? It's not time for a nap, you silly girl. Up! Up you get, Charlie..."

The woman was laughing, and there was some mumbling, but she returned with a young girl following behind her in a loose, knee-length skirt and a sleeveless top. Her dark hair was sleep-tussled, and she stopped by the sink when she saw a stranger at the door.

"Who're you?" she asked rather rudely.

"Who're _you_?" he countered without missing a beat.

"Elsa? "she looked up at the woman.

Obviously she was less than amused with this visitor and his attitude.

"This is Griffin; he's joining us for dinner. Griffin, this is my niece Charlotte."

The preteens merely stared at one another.

"Charlotte, where have your manners gone?"

"...nice to meet you, Griffin...can I get you something to drink?" she asked pleasantly.

"...I dunno why I'm here," Griffin huffed. "I don't mean to be rude, miss, but-"

"Just come on in and we'll talk..."

Both females seemed normal enough, but he also didn't like to just stroll on in. Of course, he didn't need an open door to escape, and that was a good reminder. Trying not to think "curiosity killed the cat," he stepped out of the doorway and pulled the creaky door shut behind him.

"My niece, Charlotte...she's like you. She can do what you do..." Elsa announced.

Griffin just stared at the young girl, and she snapped her head around to stare at her Aunt. Her hair flicked with the motion; perhaps she wasn't pleased to be outed- _he_ wouldn't be.

"How do ya know about that?" Griffin recovered first to demand.

"I know the signs... I know what's possible, and I don't deny what I feel and see to be true. You are all alone, aren't you?"

Griffin kept his chin up defiantly.

"So? I can take care of myself," he insisted.

"I don't doubt it... you look well for a baby who is all alone," she smiled.

"I'm no baby," Griffin scoffed.

"...a young boy, then. Just like my niece is a young girl- her parents are gone as well."

"Aunt Elsa!" Charlotte hissed.

"She showed up at my door three years ago all alone ...my sister and brother were dead. Sound like a familiar story?"

Griffin silently nodded.

"Come eat, then," Elsa nodded, apparently considering the conversation closed for the time being. "Charlotte- set the table...go on, darling..."

She seemed much more at ease than either child, so they took lead from her cue. Charlotte started to set the table, and Griffin finally sat himself on the edge of the worn booth at the small RV table. He watched the other preteen closely like he'd see her do something that definitively confirmed what the older lady had said. He had never met another Jumper, but he supposed he wasn't shocked to run into one.

They were quiet as Elsa, humming, spooned food onto shallow plates. There was rice, chicken, and vegetables in a sauce that was spicy. It was quite nearly too hot, but it was also flavorful and tasty; he gladly accepted more when it was offered even though his lips stung slightly.

"I've never met another Jumper before," he told them when he started to slow down on the food.

"Neither has Charlie," Elsa spoke when the girl did not.

"Have _you_?" Griffin checked.

"...a long time ago. A boy who went to University near my home... I knew he was different as soon as we met..."

Griffin wasn't one hundred percent clear on what she meant, but he thought maybe she was about to get all romantic about something, so he didn't pry.

"Sorry I can't repay you or nothing for dinner," he sighed and pushed some sauce around his plate with his fork.

"Oh, no- it's nothing. We help each other out around here," Elsa beamed. "We share and take care of one another."

"Right ...are ya both in the circus then?"

"No, no," Elsa smiled. "The ring master is a friend ...I help with scheduling and ticket sales. Charlotte lives with me ...she helps around behind the scenes when she can. Sometimes at a campfire she entertains us all with a song at the piano," she winked at her charge.

Charlotte rolled her eyes.

"Aunt Elsa used to be a great performer. She was one of the troupers- an acrobat. She performed on aerial silks," she bragged on her Aunt's behalf.

"True," Elsa smiled humbly and stood to clear the table.

"I can!" Griffin offered quickly and took all the plates and silverware so he could rinse them in the sink.

"I'll wash them properly later; just stack them, Griffin," Elsa discouraged him.

He did as she said and perched on the edge of his booth again.

"You say you're from all over? Do you travel to stay safe?" Elsa questioned him curiously.

"I don't stay nowhere permanent, yeah," Griffin confirmed. "You, too- always moving camp, right?"

"I believe it works to ur advantage, yes," Elsa agreed. "...so does the fact that Charlotte no longer Jumps..."

"What?"

"It's been over a year, hasn't it, _ladki_?"

Charlotte nodded and crossed her arms moodily- it seemed like this was a topic already discussed on more than one occasion.

"She won't ...she knows people killed her mother and father because of what she can do. And we think someone almost found us in Utah a while back...she is frightened, but I know her refusal is nonsense."

"Aunt Elsa, really?" Charlotte sighed.

"Shh, shh...I will not always be around to look over you! You are my family, and I love you... you cannot be defenseless..."

Griffin felt as an intruder on this heartfelt declaration, so he just squirmed where he sat.

"I know your ability is a _gift_ if you learn how to let it be ... ...but you don't listen to me, and I don't actually know how to help you myself. Now Griffin has gone and arrived here..." she twisted to smile at her guest again. "An answer to all of my many prayers ..."

Griffin was not sure just what to make of that ...it was quite a huge thing to say.

"That's ...nice," he told her lamely and looked at Charlotte.

She seemed uncomfortable over this, too, and maybe somewhat confused.

"I'm glad you've come to our corner of the world ...of all the places in all the earth," Elsa smiled. "It's a sign _...you_ are a sign and you are welcome with us as long as you like..."

"...nothin' good ever comes of that," Griffin picked at the table.

Sam. Consuelo. Mum. Dad...

"Don't be silly. Stay. Relax. Teach my girl to be free with herself," she sighed. "I need that ...but not tonight. Charlie, go show him to the campfire; introduce him. I'll be out in a bit..."

Charlotte eyed her Aunt a couple moments and then rose.

"Come on, Griffin..."

She waved him up, and he followed a little mindlessly. This whole evening was very unexpected.

"I'm sorry if she's a little... ...like that," the girl sighed and glanced back at her RV. "She's just had this in her head lately..."

"Hmm," Griffin didn't commit to anything about her Aunt.

He looked sideways at her while they walked. Another Jumper...another Jumper right in front of his eyes. One who...didn't Jump.

"So who we meetin', Charlie?"

"A few trapeze kids are our age- they're usually out. Other than that it's mostly all adults... ...and I'm usually only Charlie to people I know," she added pointedly.

"Got it," he nodded.

He wasn't sure if he should be there at all, but he'd stay- for now.


	2. Mistake

**2.**  
 _ **"This road never looked so lonely. This house doesn't burn down slowly, to ashes...to ashes. It's time to begin, isn't it? I get a little bit bigger, but I'll admit I'm just the same as I was."**  
_ _'It's Time,' by Imagine Dragons_

 _._

 **FIVE WEEKS LATER**

"Charlie?" Griffin poked his head in the door of the tan RV.

He still sometimes felt weird making himself welcome there, but Elsa was insisting and he was starting to get used to it. He was just more cautious than he had ever been, and the woman seemed to accept that and didn't take offense.

"Saying something?"

He whipped around to find Charlotte coming around the end of the camper. She was smiling, and her dark hair was piled on top of her head to keep it away from her in the muggy heat.

"Yeah, looking for you. We're supposed to go out past the train tracks- forget, did you?"

"No," Charlotte huffed. "I didn't know if you'd be late, so I got busy helping out."

Griffin had hopped a ride into town with some troupers because he needed some more clothes. He only had a couple sets and they were getting somewhat old. Elsa had set him up with work cleaning after some of the animals for a small price, so he had enough cash to get a few things from a consignment store.

"I'm never late. Come on, then..."

Charlotte sighed. For some reason she still liked to deny the fact that she liked their outings.

"I should find Elsa to let her know..."

"She already knows the plan," Griffin insisted with a groan. "Let's _go_!"

Charlotte kicked the ground but caught up to him quickly, anyway, when he just headed off without her at his side.

They had paid close attention to the area when they travelled to this performance location. There were train tracks not far away, and they cut along them out into a wooded area. From there, they could Jump somewhere to... "play"

It had taken nearly a week for Elsa to convince Charlotte to Jump with their new pal. Griffin thought she'd only done it in the beginning to get her Aunt to shut up about it- the older woman had harped on it almost to the point of Charlotte's tears the one day.

The girl had been mildly comforted to hear Griffin had rules passed-down by his parents about where one should or shouldn't Jump, but she'd been reluctant all the same. Once they started, however, they quickly bonded. As the only people either of them knew who had their ability, maybe it was natural. Same gift, same feeling of isolation, similar histories ...it helped push them together.

"Are we going to the same place?" Charlotte asked once they'd left the others behind and made it to the tracks.

"Yup," answered Griffin, hopping up onto one side of the tracks to walk it like a balance beam.

Charlotte copied him on the opposite rail, and they wobbled along together.

"Isn't that unsafe? To keep going there?"

"Nah. It's in the middle of nowhere."

The last time they'd ventured out, Griffin had decided to take take her to The Empty Quarter. It was hard because of all the memories regarding the place, but it was also where he felt at home to learn and practice. Charlotte was trustworthy to him, so he could share the place with her.

"How did you find that place anyway? Jump there on accident?"

"Remember I said my dad and I used ta practice this sort of stuff?"

"Mmmhmm," Charlotte answered without speaking because neither of them talked about their parents very often.

"...he found the place. We used to live in San Diego and The Quarter's about...two hours away or so," he remembered.

Griffin didn't have paintball guns to practice with, but he taught her some karate skills and about jumping around to confuse and distract someone...they worked on making that kind of thing a reflex to her. At least she actually Jumped now ...the first time he'd Jumped her to a secluded space she kicked sticks around for nearly half an hour before flipping _doing_ something.

And then she was back in the swing.

"You're lucky he could teach you this kind of stuff..."

"Pretty lucky, yeah,' Griffin agreed.

His father's lessons stayed engrained in him and had already helped him on more than one occasion- he was thankful, yes.

They were somber for a while, then, tottering along the tracks together.

"Far enough?' she asked after some ways.

"Sure...fan out a bit to check the area first..."

They both hopped off the train tracks and circled around in opposite directions to make sure no one was around who might see. Charlotte was a quick learner on that type of thing, he'd give her that. She was cautious and understood perfectly why they should be careful since they had the time and space to be.

When they met back together near the tracks they nodded and then disappeared only to reappear under the sun in the dry Quarter.

"You're it!"

Griffin "tagged" Charlotte a little roughly on the shoulder and then Jumped away.

"Cheater; I wasn't ready!" Charlotte screeched.

But whining rarely got her anywhere with this particular boy, so she simply vanished away after him.

It was hide-and-go-seek tag for the most part. As neither wanted to get caught, when they were found they ran ...Jumping as they did so to get a few extra feet ahead and force the other to Jump to catch up.

They laughed and teased and tuckered themselves out.

"Jerk!" Charlotte complained when Griffin gave chase to her and Jumped only a foot or so in front of her own Jump.

She was unable to stop in time, and she collided hard with him, sending them both rolling into the dirt.

"Miscalculated," he explained, but his smile left Charlotte wondering if he'd done it on purpose.

"Still a jerk," she told him and just decided not to get up yet.

They'd been at it a while, and she was breathing hard. So was Griffin, so he didn't make fun of her for throwing-in the towel.

"I'm glad we started doing this," Charlotte confessed as she pulled herself into a sitting position.

"Not as glad as Elsa, I bet," Griffin commented.

Charlotte rolled her eyes. Too true. Her Aunt was always in a much better mood after one of their "trips out to explore and play," as they told the other troupers. She smiled and asked how it went and just got all of a dither about it. Griffin didn't get it, but girl types were very strange sometimes.

"I don't know what gets into her," Charlotte smiled. "I asked her if she thought you were my boyfriend or something, but she laughed and said no."

Griffin scrunched up his face. That thought was ...strange. He wasn't sure where he stood on girls. He no longer thought they were horrible and had what one of his classmates had told him were "cooties," but they were odd and...well... Charlotte was alright, but _ew_.

"I'm hungry," Charlotte sighed and pushed herself to her feet to brush off sand from her clothing.

"Yeah...it's a bit of a walk back, too... ...wanna just Jump off somewhere to get some dinner?"

"Yeah!" Charlotte responded quickly before truly even thinking the idea over.

She laughed at herself.

"Can we?'

"...why not?" Griffin shrugged. "I have some pocket money on me...I know a mall not too far off- we can use the food court."

Griffin pictured the mall and the stores. His mother used to buy him clothes there ...there was a parking garage on one side of the building and they could jump there and then let themselves in. He concentrated on the place, and then Charlotte let him take her arm so they could Jump away.

He had misjudged.

Maybe his memory was off because it had been so long since he was there, or maybe there had been some remodeling. Instead of appearing in a dim parking garage they appeared in a brightly lit walkway of the mall next to a fountain.

He should have known better.

Someone shouted, drawing extra attention beyond those who'd seen the boy and girl simply appear. People were pointing and frowning in confusion. A couple people looked around like they were looking for a trick or a joke.

"Jump or run?" Charlotte whispered.

"Run," Griffin nodded and pushed her to move.

They scurried towards the closest door they saw and that lead them to a large, full parking lot.

"What did we do!" Charlotte yelled. "We need to go home!"

"Hey kids!" A security officer had come outside.

"Go!"

They dashed through the parking lot, but the only place to go then was right into the road. Charlotte stopped short, but Griffin pushed her forward and tumbled with her, Jumping away before they were run over.

A blaring car horn rang in their ears even though they were out of the street and back in The Empty Quarter.

"Oh no... _shite_ ," Griffin cursed and punched the air because there was nothing nearby to hit.

"Push me in front of a car- thanks!"  
"Like it _matters_! We're fine!" he snapped.

"Yeah, we gotta go ...come on," Charlotte urged as she righted herself again.

"Go where?!"  
"Home," Charlotte told him in a "duh" kind of tone.

"Are you daft, is that it? They saw us! Someone will cause a fuss, and _they_ will come ...malls have video cameras, Charlie!" Griffin shouted. " _Shite_..."

"No ...no ...but they don't know us; we aren't there anymore. They can't find us..."

"No? We are only one state away and our face'll be everywhere when _they_ realize it was us. I only just started coming back around California cuz my face was in the papers when my parents were- when they died. Weren't people looking for you?"

"...yeah," Charlotte answered alone.

Her face had been all over the local news in Olympia, Washington, but she'd gone to her Aunt down South so she'd not been recognized.

"We can't go back ...you're from Washington, I'm from California... _they_ will make sure it gets put together and that it's a big deal to find us...missin' kids or somethin'. It's not like we were hiding at the fairgrounds ...people comin' and goin'. People have seen us!"

"...will _they_ go to the camp?"

"Dunno, but we can't be there or everyone's in trouble.

Charlotte's eyes grew wide. He could see she was getting it. Getting how far _they_ would follow you, how well they'd track down leads...

"So ...so ...what do I tell Aunt Elsa? She'll be scared if we don't come back!"

For a brief moment Griffin basked in the word "we" and really took a moment to appreciate there was an adult out there who cared about him and was possibly waiting for him.

Then the moment was over.

This was what you _had_ to do with _normal_ people if you were a Jumper: leave them.

"Tell her? You can't go back and tell her anything!" He exclaimed and then saw how distraught she looked. "Well, okay ...maybe in the middle of the night. In a few days when maybe it's blown over ..." he relented.

They sat in silence for a few long minutes.

"...no, we go now," her face had grown hard.

"Now?!"

"Yes before anyone has a chance to catch up on us! When if they find where we've been in a day or two? Then it's too late. We need out stuff! Elsa can say she doesn't...that she never had me to stay..."

Griffin considered her reasoning. Little though he relished the idea of Jumping back there yet (he felt "watched" and "contaminated" just now), he figured maybe she was right. _He'd_ feel better about the situation in a few days, but that didn't mean the situation would actually _be_ better...it could be _worse_. Their whereabouts could have been tracked by then.

"Okay, let's go ...straight to the RV. Inside."

Charlotte nodded, and a few seconds later they were both home in the comfort of the cozy RV.

It wasn't home anymore.

"Elsa?"

Charlotte checked the back.

"She's not here!"

"Maybe she'd working- just get packing. Anything that's yours just pack it up so we can get it out," Griffin demanded and started pawing the few things he had setting out into his duffle bag.

He'd stayed there with them a while but never got too homey. He Jumped his things away into The Quarter and then popped back just as Elsa was entering.

"I was going to make dinner ...what are you doing? I thought you didn't Jump here?" she eyed him over in confusion, and then her eyes widened when Charlotte bustled out with nearly all of her things in a disorganized heap. "Charlie?"

"We ...made a mistake," Charlotte told her Aunt vaguely. " _They_ might come, so we have to go..."

"They?" Elsa snapped and straightened her spine. "The ones who killed Maya and Raymond?"

"Yeah ...we think we might've been seen on a camera. It was stupid...we're talking all our things..."

"So they can't prove we were here," Griffin supplied. "Just tell 'em you don't know me and haven't seen Charlie in a few years..."

"Of course, of course...and you know the others- they won't talk. They won't give information to outsiders," Elsa nodded confidently.

"I'm sorry," Charlie sniffed now that she was actually faced with parting from her Aunt.

"Child, _yara_ , no..." Elsa signed and bent to her. "This would always happen eventually. You would be found or I would not be here to be with you ...I won't be living forever, but I am at peace because you won't be alone. You have a friend."

She gave a glance to Griffin.

"It's my fault," he scuffed a toe on the warn carpet.

"No ...no, not at all. If it was a mistake...accidents happen and no one is to blame. Do you both hear that?"

Griffin nodded along with Charlie, watching Elsa stand and cross the small space to him. He did not understand how she could be so serene all the time... even now.

"I have told you before, Griffin, that I believe in signs and destiny ...and I know that's why you came to us when you did. You needed a friend, too, to not be so alone ...my _chamatkar_..."

She'd said this to him before. He didn't know what it meant, but it sounded nice so he chose to believe that it was.

"I dunno bout all that ...just wish I didn't always bring trouble with me..."

"Hush ...you will return when you think it's safe to show me that you are in one piece, eh?"

The children nodded.

"Thanks for everything," Griffin muttered.

"But of course- I'll always be grateful we found you," she gave him a brief hug.

He realized it was the first hug he'd received in some time, so he let himself enjoy it. Once he was released Charlotte was throwing herself at her Aunt in a fierce hug. Elsa whispered some things to her, and then they parted. Charlotte was scrubbing at her eyes, and Elsa was wiping at her own.

"Before you leave," she sniffed.

Elsa strode to her small room at the back and returned holding many folded bills.

"Food, shelter, clothes ...whatever you need to hole up somewhere," she tucked it into Charlotte's front jeans pocket.

"Look after each other."

"We will," Griffin nodded in response to the charge.

"Yeah... be safe"

"Of course"

"I love you," Charlotte whispered.

Elsa smiled one last time, and the children jumped one after the other.

Charlotte reappeared a few feet from Griffin; she'd Jumped after scooping her things off the floor where she'd dropped them to hold onto her Aunt. Clothes, books, shoes, some sheets of music, a few pictures, and various others were piled together inside a quilt that was pulled together at the corners.

She sniffled quietly and shuffled a few feet away. Griffin let her do so and busied himself rifling through his bag again just to double-check. He didn't know what to say to her to make her stop crying; maybe she just needed to cry ...he wasn't sure how that worked.

"...I have a tent stashed in a tree near where I first met you and your Aunt. I'm going to check if it's there still..."

Charlotte's back was still to him, but he saw her nod so he Jumped away. When he returned, small tent in tow, she was sitting cross-legged by his bag.

"It's small but, ya know ...we'll fit... ...I nicked it from some surplus store a while back. Keeps the rain out," he prattled on to fill the breezy quiet.

"Okay..." Charlotte nodded and didn't bat an eye about the confession of theft.

He was a boy with no home ...if he needed a tent to sleep in, then he needed a tent to sleep in. She was sure she'd need to work on her own pokerface so that she could learn to steal, too.

Somehow, she didn't feel bad about that thought. She didn't think she'd ever feel okay to rob some downtrodden soul, but ...some Joe Shmoe...why not? She was a kid, and the world already hadn't been fair to her. Was it wrong to do unfair things in return? Couldn't she just do what she had to in order to get by?

"Griffin...what do we do?"

"Find some shade and set up the tent ...lay low a while- no one alive has ever known I come here.

He said it so matter-of-fact.

"I mean ..after that. What. Do. We. _Do_?"

She looked up at Griffin, and he saw she looked desperate. He wasn't sure how he felt being responsible for her welfare when he'd inadvertently got people hurt in the past, but ...he did find that he rather liked that she looked to him for answers. Like a leader ...yeah, that part was a good feeling.

"Move around a lot ...pick-pocket for money. Do odd jobs if we're by a neighborhood- ya just tell 'em ya live a block or somethin' over and want some spare money but don't have a paper route. People don't ask as many questions as ya think," he shrugged. "We'll be okay..."

"We? It's _we_ , right?" Charlotte clarified.

"...yeah. All I've brought friends is trouble, but you and I are the same, so ...we're both on _their_ bad side anyhow. Might as well team up, huh?" he was nodding to her and to himself. "Batman and Robin kindda pair or somethin' ...obviously _I'm_ Batman..."

Charlotte smiled and sort of started to cry at the same time. She scrubbed her hands over her face and tried to hide it.

Griffin wondered if she was going to need ...a _hug_ or something. He wasn't sure how to do that sort of thing that way. He'd seen his dad comfort his mom, but he couldn't do that...

Luckily, she pulled herself together on her own ...or at least together enough to take a deep breath and stand up.

"Shade then?'

"Yeah, let's go, Robin..."


	3. Sick

3.  
 _"Settle down; it'll all be clear. Don't pay no mind to the demons, they fill you with fear. The trouble, it might drag you down; if you get lost, you can always be found. Just know you're not alone cause I'm gonna make this place your own."_

 _'Home,' by Phil Phillips  
._

Charlotte is a good 'Robin,' though Griffin has dropped the habit of calling her that. It was amusing for a month or two, but it has lost appeal by now because she's used to it and it no longer annoys her.

Still, she's alright to have around. She isn't a dolt, she doesn't nag, and she's not weird about camping out and living in the outdoors sometimes. She's not some girl who just wants to wear tutus and ribbons and things ...so that's nice.

Charlotte rather enjoys the outdoor adventuring bits of their lives. It's fun ...with fresh air and, often, appealing scenery, sometimes it's easy to pretend they're on a nice vacation.

For a year, now, they've criss-crossed North America. They bunked with another circus for a while because Griffin has had past success with that and Charlotte knows the culture. Doing that was easy, and even now it's tempting to just go back and stay, but they both understand that's how trouble starts. So far, they do a good job of reminding each other not to get to comfortable.

Mostly they camp, moving around based on climate. They sneak into state parks to set up camp, and they venture out to surrounding towns/cities for supplies, amusement, or money. Or books ...they borrow from libraries and give themselves some make-shift "home schooling." Griffin likes to call it nerdy, but even he likes the mental stimulation and the charade of normalcy.

They both enjoy to imagine they really are still in school ...how different life would be if that were true...

They have a new tent now- bigger and with dividers to section off rooms. It is harder to hide than the old pup tent, but it's worth it- neither knows exactly how to live with a member of the opposite sex. They're already growing up too fast, but they aren't ready to actually enjoy the close-quarter situation.

"Hey!" Charlotte greets, popping around the divider flap.

"Oi! Ask much?"

"What? You're dressed," she shrugs.

Griffin is sitting cross-legged in jeans and a sweater on his cot. She's not sure what the big deal is...

"Not the point ...I couldda been doin' anything! So whattcha want?" he asks and looks up from his sketchpad to check.

"When I was at the library yesterday I did some research ...Elsa's in Iowa. I'm gonna visit- you want?"

"Nah," Griffin decides.

"Alright...whattcha drawing?"

Whatever I want," he evades easily in a bored fashion.

His response doesn't bother Charlotte too much. Sometimes Griffin is just moody; anyway, she doesn't need an escort. They part ways sometimes.

"Well...see you later"

"Uh-huh," Griffin waves distractedly and makes no other acknowledgement as she finishes getting ready.

Still, she doesn't mind, and she doesn't think her Aunt will either. This will be her third visit to her beloved Aunt; Griffin accompanied her on the last two. He sometimes gives her grief because, really, they both know it's safest to stay away. Charlotte finds that she can not- not entirely. She owes everything to the Aunt who took her in even when she knew it was dangerous, even when she knew what Charlotte could do and that it had cost others their lives already. Charlotte simply hopes there will be no repercussions...

She jumps as she steps out of the tent, and her foot lands on thin carpet. She's standing next to the sink in what appears to be an empty RV, and she's debating whether to venture outside or wait for her Aunt in there when she hears coughing inside. Smiling, she cross the RV and lets herself into the back bedroom.

"Aunt Elsa..."

"My _yara_..."

* * *

"Cancer!" Charlotte shrieks as she Jumps through the tent.

It's a sloppy Jump and the material billows around her.

"Bloody..."

Griffin's cursing dissolves into mutters and he appears around his flap testily.

"Some of us are tryin' ta nap...whattcha on about?"

"...Elsa has cancer."

It feels like a surprise to Charlotte to say this sentence aloud even though she'd just been with her Aunt for a few hours with this subject as a main topic.

"Wh...oh," is all Griffin says.

This is one problem he's never faced...what is it that you're supposed to say when someone's family is sick?

"Yeah, and she's known a long time," Charlotte continues without needing any prompt or platitude. "Since before we met you ...that's why she wanted to make sure I had a friend! She was always going on about not being around forever- I should've known! Why didn't I get it?!"

Her foot lashes out before she decides to kick anything, and the metal pots they've collected topple over noisily.

"C'mon, how're you supposed to guess _that_ ," Griffin mutters, but he may as well not have spoken for all the notice Charlotte took of the words.

Her mind is racing too fast for her to focus on his words. All she can think about is that her Aunt is dying...her body had turned on her some time ago, and she's never even had a clue. Charlotte knows she should be there ...that's what families do, they take care of each other.

"She didn't look good," she finally says shakily. "She looked pale and weak...but she said it's a bad day and that it's usually not that bad..."

"Then that's probably true," Griffin offers helpfully...he hopes it's helpful, anyhow.

"But she's sick ...and she never said..."

"Yeah, that doesn't seem very fair," Griffin agrees.

"I could've... ...well, I dunno what I could've done..."

"Nothin," Griffin tells her honestly. "Yer no doctor..."

"Thanks, I know!" Charlotte snaps. "She doesn't have a doctor, not really ...she doesn't have medical insurance so she's not going to the hospital. Some of the troupers know people who know people...or they're familiar with, like, alternative medicine... _that's_ what she's doing."

"It's working so far, then..."

"She's worse than last time we saw her, how's that ' _working'_?" Charlotte growls because he isn't getting it.

 _She_ doesn't get it.

"Okay ...well, I dunno what to say," he decided to just go ahead with honest.

Charlotte finds, somewhat to her surprise, that she appreciates that.

"Me either ...I told her I'd come stay with her and take care of her but she got mad and forbid it..."

"She knows we can't go back..."

"I know she knows! Like I said- she wanted me to have a friend outside the troupers _because_ of this ...you came to answer her prayers...her _chamatkar,_ " Charlotte mutters, and she wishes she didn't sound resentful, but she _is_ resentful. "She was just ...preparing to die..."

"Hey, she _ain_ ' dead," Griffin offers.

"Well, she could die while I'm gone...and I won't know because I can only visit every few months- she said not to change that..."

Griffin knows her Aunt's right- she's smart, and she cares- but he also knows better than to say this to Charlotte. It's true, but it's not helpful.

While Griffin is thinking up something that might be comforting, Charlotte huffs and stomps to her make-do room to drop on her cot and yank a blanket over herself. She doesn't know what to do, she doesn't know what to say, and she doesn't know what she wants besides the obvious of wanting her Aunt to be well.

She curls up in bed trying not to cry, and she wonders what a normal life might be like. She'd still be in Washington with her mom and dad...going to school; it's Spring, so she'd be playing softball in the afternoons, not visiting Aunt Elsa all alone. Cancer is relatively normal, so she accepts the fact that even if her life was normal her Aunt might be sick ...but she'd come to stay with the family in Olympia rather than troop through in her RV with hit-or-miss remedies.

The idea of her, Elsa, her mom, and her dad all together comforts her. Sometimes the visual provides itself as a nightmare, mocking her mercilessly, but today ...tonight it seems peaceful...

But she can't actually sleep. She lies for hours thinking and pretending and denying ...but not sleeping.

It's dark out. She's heard Griffin moving about, but he's quiet now, too. The lantern's off and all is black save for a muted sort of light from the moon filtering through the trees. Maybe it's a result of living in an RV for years, but the dark doesn't scare her...she's not sure if it ever has. Maybe she's made for this...or maybe she just doesn't have a choice.

It's not the dark or the little animals scurrying about that are keeping her up ...it's just her mind. It won't stop.

Slowly, she rolls off of her cot and tip-toes out of her portion of the tent and taps Griffin's flap with her nails.

"Griffin...Griffin, hey, c'mon..." she whispers and taps a little harder on the flimsy fabric.

She hears him grumbling- lazy boy.

"Wake up," she sighed and shuffles in to move next to his cot.

"Charlie, whattcha...it's dark, whattcha want?" he mutters and stretches.

He's annoyed. Charlotte knows so, and maybe she feels a little bad ...but she can't help it.

"Can I sleep with you?" she whispered.

"Hmmm...ugh."

Charlotte watches him bury his face into his pillow, and she only rolls her eyes. Lazy, indeed.

"Griff, c'mon..." she shakes his shoulder a little.

" _What!"_

"I can't sleep- can I sleep with you?"

"...what?"

She's caught his attention now and he half sits up because he has properly heard her now, but he still doesn't really understand.

Charlotte nearly feels stupid for asking. It does seem silly that she can't just _be_ on her own, but she's had a vulnerable day and she just feels ...lonely. Despite her comforting visions of her family and being in Washington...they aren't _actually_ there to accompany her.

"I said I can't sleep- can I sleep with you? Just scoot over a bit..."

"What, no...what?"

"I'm upset and I can't sleep - please? I'm sorry..."

"Fine, s'long as I can go back asleep," he heaves a long sigh and rolls to the edge of his cot just so he can get back to sleeping.

"Thanks"

He grunts as an answer. It's not the most welcoming gesture, but she accepts it and climbs into the cot next to him. It's a tight fit, but that's kind of why she wanted to do it...she can feel his warmth, sense his presence...it feels good.

"God, can ya budge up some?" Griffin groans when he tries to move.

It bustles the whole cot, but Charlotte doesn't complain and shifts on her side to make more space. She doesn't want to _cuddle,_ so she didn't make that kind of move. All she wants is to share his space, and he lets her and she appreciates the show of friendship.

* * *

They wake in the morning stiff. It takes a while to shake off the result of how cramped they've slept, but they get up to do so with minimal grumbling as they stretch. Griffin thinks of complaining, but he remembers how upset and withdrawn she'd been the night before, so he keeps his mouth shut. Besides, it counts as something to him that he hadn't had a nightmare...stiff he may be, but he hadn't woken in the middle of the night of the verge of screaming or, otherwise, to find he'd Jumped elsewhere.

He knows there's nothing he can really do for her. He couldn't fix things- he's a Jumper, not a miracle worker or someone who can take them back in time. He understands why she's a mixture of worried and indignant. Worry over Elsa's healthy and indignant over the lie-by-omission...he knows he'd feel the same way.

"Change your clothes. Then come on," he orders when an idea occurs to him.

"Bossy," Charlotte throws back from her little corner of the tent.

When she doesn't question the order, Griffin assumes that means she is doing what he says and he wanders outside to wait. He's trying to picture the place in his mind's eye perfectly- he hasn't been back in a long while, but he's feeling confident that he'll get them there fine.

"Yes, master?"

Charlotte steps out of the tent looking mildly disgruntled and marches over to him.

"Spare me the drama, yeah? Just get over here..."

Her eyes are narrowed. She wonders if maybe it's a trick and some kind of joke is on the other side of this bossy invitation.

"What is it, Grif?"

"Don't trust me?"

She trusts him, but he's a boy. Boys sometimes have different ideas of good and bad or appropriate and inappropriate- she has learned that from her extended time spent Griffin. Boys don't _get_ some things; that much her mind is most definitely certain of.

"You're lucky that I do," she answers in an almost haughty way and stomps to him. "Are we jumping somewhere?"

"Aye..."

He takes hold of her arm and the next thing she knows she's looking at a roller coaster and people are zig-zagging back and forth around them.

"...an amusement park?" Charlotte cocks her head and looks around.

Roller coasters. Shiny rides. Food stands across from where they're standing just now. They're by the bathrooms, which smell stale.

"Yeah ...SIx Flags in Missouri. I hid away here once for three days...come back when the park is closed and eat their food and then bunk down somewhere..." Griffin explains and then gives her a nudge to follow him when he begins to walk off.

First, Charlotte thinks it's silly. Why would she want to hang around an amusement park- she isn't in that kind of mood. As soon as she's done thinking that, she realizes she actually does want to ride one of the roller coasters that she can see. She hearts it racing along the track and imagines the wind whipping past her face and through her long hair...yeah, that doesn't sound so bad. Griffin's not so clueless today, it seems.

"Too slow," she pushes him from behind and jogs past in him search of the tallest roller coaster that would have the fastest drop.

"I'll show ya slow!"

Griffin does pass her, but she doesn't care. They get yelled at for running, but neither care about that, either.

 _'Teach my girl to be free with herself_ '

These words come back to Griffin has he watches Charlotte race to a stop in line behind him- he reached the ride first, of course. She's smiling, her hair a bit swept, and she's panting lightly...

He can't say for certain whether or not this is what Elsa had really meant or not, but...Charlotte looks pretty free. She's happy, anyway ...maybe this isn't what Elsa had thought of, but Griffin is sure she'd like it.

They ride several rides and even have a snack around lunch time after Griffin slips some cash out of a teenage boy's pocket.

"I think ...I mean, I _know_ Elsa's right," Charlotte finally speaks to the topic of her after they've eaten and played a couple games to use up the rest of the cash. "About not going back to stay there..."

"Yeah she is," Griffin agrees without even needing to think about it.

"Those guys from Dallas could show up," Charlotte nods.

She remembers the panic of two men pointing guns at them. The men had sounded nearly as surprised and she and Griffin had felt, like they'd stumbled on two little Jumpers purely by accident- Griffin had told her that some of these people could _feel_ Jumps, but he doesn't understand how...just one more danger, one more mystery. Griffin had reacted first and Jumped, and Charlotte had leapt through his Jump scar because she'd been unable to focus her mind to any one place.

She doesn't want _that_ to happen again...and especially not to Elsa.

"...I'm really mad at her..." she confesses while she's at it.

"S'okay," Griffin just nods.

"...can we go ride all the rides again?"

Charlotte doesn't want to talk about it anymore. She's not sure if it's denial or not ...she'll figure it all out later. For now she's at an amusement park with her friend, and she just wants to act like she's some normal girl.

It's a time she'll look back on even years later with fondness. One of the few days she got to feel like a carefree kid.


End file.
